Minneapolis Friends Meeting

Minutes of Monthly Meeting for Business

December 13, 2020

Remote on Zoom    [Some names and information have been edited for publishing on the web[

In Attendance:  John K. – presiding clerk, Tom W. – recording clerk, Bill H. – Zoom host,  plus forty-six attenders

Silent Worship

1. Approve Agenda – APPROVED
2. Approve November Minutes – APPROVED
3. Ministry and Counsel (M&C) Report – Bill H.    Since their last report to monthly meeting in October, M&C has met twice. Last Sunday M&C hosted the mid-morning program that followed a Lexio-Divina format to consider the Bible passage John 14:1-7. This passage was chosen because they felt it would be beneficial to explore, to understand and to share what we believe.
   1. Roger M. and Kim J.  have requested their marriage be taken under the care of Meeting.  A clearness committee, (Allen G., Pat J., Nettie S. and Jim L.), met with them and recommended that M&C ask Meeting to approve their request.  Friend requested some explanation on what it means to take a marriage under the care of Meeting.  A couple Friends explained that this means that as a community we are taking the marriage under our care, that we are offering our ongoing support to them, that we are providing our spiritual and our collective guidance to them as individuals and as a married couple – similar to how we bring each individual into our community of worship. The clearness committee affords a chance for a smaller group to meet with the couple and to review their faith and their commitment to marriage, exploring the context of their relationship to each other and to Meeting. It was suggested that Friends reference Northern Yearly Meeting’s Faith and Practice for a more in-depth discussion on marriage beginning on page 97.  Friends APPROVED taking the marriage of Roger M. and Kim J. under the care of Minneapolis Friends Meeting.
   2. Other considerations: How to improve the quality and depth of worship using Zoom. Some suggestions they have implemented are to close off the chat room during worship, to regularly utilize break-out sessions, to use screen share before worship begins, and to simplify who to call with questions and problems using Zoom by having a single contact for unprogrammed and semi-programmed worship services (right now it is Bill H.). M&C recognizes that managing a smooth close to worship is awkward and, at times, hard when using Zoom. They are trying to maintain the pre-Zoom practice of encouraging introductions, sharing joys and concerns, and welcoming new attenders, while smoothly transitioning to the next service.   Even with the challenges they feel there is a certain joy and worshipful expression to be found in how we close worship.
   3.  M&C is working closely with Care and Counsel Committee.  They are seeking to provide better pastoral care for individuals and members as they face death and dying, to provide better care for those losing a loved one or friend, and to assist those who are arranging funeral services.
   4.  M&C appreciates all those who serve Meeting by being on committees, closing worship, and speaking.  If you are led to close worship or to share a message or reading, please let a member of M&C know.
   5.  On 12/27 M&C is sponsoring a mid-morning program on exploring how to nourish worship, with the focus being on the role of pride, hubris, ego, humility and openness in our spiritual practice. In addition, they encourage us to register early for the workshop in February that will be led by Christopher Sammond, on deepening our connection to each other and to the Divine.   The program will be offered twice, and attendance will be limited to 25 each session. Mark your calendars for Feb. 12, 13, and 21 or Feb 19, 20, and 21. More details and registration information will be forth coming.  Discussion: Friend had taken the workshop at Friends General Conference with Christopher Sammond and highly recommends it to us. It was a very enrichening experience and it will be a timely offering to our Meeting.
4. Memorial Minute for Mumia S. – Tom W.  [see Attachments for the full document] The memorial minute was read and ACCEPTED.
5. Northpoint Food Drive – Deborah J.   Meeting is being asked to sponsor another food drive at the meeting house for Northpoint Clinic in January. Food items would be delivered to the meeting house during specified times during the week, and there will be one or two people in the building to handle the items, with a designated driver taking the donations to Northpoint. Carolyn has been involved in the planning and is on board with the arrangements. Dates and times will be determined.  Discussion: Is cash ok? Yes, but the food shelf has need for items that are not easily purchased in bulk quantities, so cash is not always preferable. A list of needed items for donation will be posted on the Google talk group web page. Rather than have everyone drive to the meeting house to drop off items, could a driver with a van pick up the items from around the community? Debbie is looking into that possibility. Steve S. said that Peace and Social Concerns committee has sought additional ways to do something concrete in the community – specifically, ways to support Northpoint Clinic and their food shelf.  One suggestion – six volunteers are needed for food shelf inventory on December 31. There has been interest in this idea, but there is also concern about COVID safety and the possible risk associated with this activity. Steve said Northpoint is adhering to state and CDC COVID guidelines and is limiting the number of people in the food shelf to 12 individuals.  There is still some risk, however, and the volunteers, so far, have all had COVID-19. Steve can provide additional information if you contact him. Friends acknowledged Debby’s role in taking initiative on Northpoint and of John Stuart’s role in furthering our exploration of police and justice issues. Another Friend asked if the food donation is in addition to the White Envelope gift that has been designated to go Northpoint this year.  Yes, it is in addition. Friend explained that Meeting has had a fifty-year relationship with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and participation in the food shelf at Northpoint, among other activities, is a continuation of that historical connection.  Friends APPROVED sponsoring a food donation for Northpoint Food Shelf at the meeting house in January.
6. Nominating Update – Deborah J.:   Mary G. has agreed to fill an opening on Welcoming and Outreach, serving until 2022.  Sue K. has agreed to serve as Clerk of Welcoming and Outreach committee.  Friends APPROVED both nominations.
7. Stewardship and Finance Topics – Marilyn J.:  The balance remaining in the COVID-19 Relief Fund has been spent. As was approved at October’s monthly meeting, Stewardship has released an additional $10,000 from the general funds to be used for the COVID Relief Fund.  Also, a reminder, for 2020 tax purposes, donations to Minneapolis Friends Meeting must arrive at the office by December 31 to qualify as an eligible charitable donation for 2020. Members of Stewardship will be contacting committee clerks soon to determine their committee’s budgetary needs for next fiscal year. Stewardship does a lot of work during January preparing a preliminary budget proposal for submission to Meeting for Business in February.  Discussion: Who should someone contact to set up direct deposit to Minneapolis Friends Meeting?  The committee clerk, Marilyn.   Friend asked about the Meeting’s cash balance.  Is it ok?  Yes. Currently it is about $120,000, although the clerk did not have the exact figures on hand.
8. Correspondence:  Scott C. submitted a request to M&C to terminate his membership with Minneapolis Friends Meeting. He has found the distance from Meeting and the frequent demands to work on Sunday have made it difficult to pursue his religious life and to meet his commitments at Meeting.  He has started attending a different church that is closer to his home and that meets his needs.  He asks to be removed from any committee assignments and Meeting lists.  Friends expressed their sense of loss about Scott leaving, but know that he and his wife take good care of themselves and they have remained active in a support community from which they continue to receive strength.
9. Meeting for Business concluded early and, with the leading of the clerk, transitioned to a period of Worship Sharing focused on the question – “What do I want from Meeting?”
10. Meeting for Business adjourned at 11:00

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Memorial Minute of MUMIA S.

Longtime Friend and devoted family member, R. Mumia S., died on May 30, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, succumbing to the COVID-19 infection. The third of nine children, he was born April 4, 1949 in Kakamega, Kenya to Zakayo M. and Delila S..

After completing primary and secondary school in Kenya, Mumia came to the United States for further studies in 1971 under the sponsorship of Homer L. Veil family missionaries in Kenya and the North Carolina Friends Meeting. In the U.S., he earned his BA from Guilford College and his Masters in African History from Ohio University. He then moved to Washington, D.C., to pursue a Ph.D. from Howard University.

At Howard University he met Beverly A., whom he married in 1984. He stayed in the Washington, D.C. area for the next thirty years, working as a historical curator at the Smithsonian Institution and then later as a high school teacher in Maryland. He was a volunteer soccer coach for about twenty-five years, spreading his love of the game to minority youth all over the D.C. metro area.

Mumia stayed an active member of the Quaker Community wherever he lived, including over thirty years of service with the Adelphi Friends where for a time he held the position of White House Resident and, most recently, here with the Minneapolis Friends.

Mumia was a kind person and loving family man. He loved his siblings and the community where he was born in Kakamega. He started various community projects to assist the less privileged, in line with the strong values his parents imparted on him from childhood.

He was privileged to sponsor some of his friends and family members to immigrate and study in the United States and encouraged others to work hard in their studies in order to better their lives. He is survived by his four children—Rebecca, Mukosi, Lela and Christian. He has been a loving father, brother, uncle and grandfather to his family, and a positive addition to every community he lived in.

Mumia moved to Minnesota in the summer of 2012 after suffering a stroke that left his speech impaired and his mobility diminished. While in Minnesota, he lived in Bloomington under the care of his two sisters, supported by other members of his loving family.

Although physically and vocally impaired, he remained active and engaged—attending Meetings, going to the gym, gardening, cooking, and visiting family. Despite having great difficulty speaking, he was able to win friends and positively impact people with his warmth of spirit wherever he went. Friends at Minneapolis Friends Meeting retain an endearing image of Mumia from his halting attempts to introduce himself at the close of meeting for worship. With him holding the microphone, trying to say his name, Friends, from around the meeting room, would join together in calling out his name. To which, Mumia would smile his wonderful smile and relax, beaming, into the spirit of our gathered community.

He was loved by many around the world. His funeral service, conducted remotely from the cemetery on Zoom, was shared across the United States and in Kenya. He is greatly missed.

 

This Minute was modified from the family’s eulogy for Mumia.

Tom W., Clerk of Death and Memorial Committee

Minneapolis Friends Meeting